Salem Valley Farms Ice Cream 6th Annual Fundraiser for Ray of Light Farm

The following press release was provided by Jane Scacciaferro:

Salem Valley Farms Ice Cream is getting ready to hold its 6th annual fundraiser for Ray of Light Farm in East Haddam.  Ray of Light is a non-profit animal rescue and animal assisted therapy center. (go to rayoflightfarm.org for more info)

On Columbus Day, Monday, October 14th, from Noon-5pm, Salem Valley Farms Ice Cream will again donate 100% of SALES for the day to this wonderful farm to help support their ongoing animal rescue efforts.  We have been fortunate to be able to donate over $12,000 in the previous five years from this event alone, and we hope this will be another successful one!

Among countless other rescues this farm has been part of, they have had a strong focus for the past six years on rescuing Premarin Foals.  Premarin Foals are an unwanted byproduct of the production of Premarin, a hormone replacement drug.  Each year thousands of these beautiful baby horses are fattened up and sold for human consumption.  Ray of Light helps rescue and find forever homes for at least some of these babies. 

Last year they took in Nurse Mare foals, which are babies of pregnant mares that are taken from their moms at birth in order for the mother to nurse a more “important” foal.  These babies most often die if not rescued, as they are just too little to figure out how to survive without help.

Adoption of rescue horses is still being negatively impacted by the state of the economy and Ray of Light still houses numerous horses looking for their forever homes.  Horse care is considerably more costly than the average household pet dog or cat.  Ray of Light relies heavily on donations, which is why we feel it so important to hold this event each year. 

Free horse-drawn wagon rides will again be offered, this year from 1:00-4:00pm, for ice cream customers. Free face painting will also be offered throughout the event. This is a great way to introduce youngsters to the value of contributing to a good cause while having a fun, tasty experience!